Former Sen. Feingold to serve as envoy to Africa

6/18/13 12:39 PM EDT

Former Sen. Russ Feingold is Secretary of State John Kerry’s pick to serve as the first-ever U.S. special envoy to the Great Lakes region of Africa, Kerry announced Tuesday.

"Russ and I served together in the Senate for some 18 years," Kerry told reporters at the State Department. "I have a lot of respect for a lot of qualities of Russ, his intellect, his courage, his passion. But with respect to this mission, chief among those qualities that are important right is his expertise on Africa."

The Wisconsin Democrat had for weeks been rumored to be in talks to take the job, which will include a focus on civil strife in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Feingold was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs while Kerry and Vice President Joe Biden chaired the committee and showed himself to be "the Senate's leading advocate and expert on Africa," Kerry said.

Since leaving office in 2011, Feingold has been active in pursuing campaign finance reform through Progressives United, a group dedicated to opposing the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision and its aftermath. He was also seen as a potential challenger to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, in 2014, but last week ruled out running for office again before at least 2016.

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, who’s set to become President Obama’s national security adviser in July, praised the pick on Twitter, saying Feingold’s “experience & commitment to Africa will be invaluable as he works for peace in the Great Lakes.”

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, called Feingold a “superb choice” for the job. “Over the last decade, there was no more passionate advocate in the Senate for responsible and constructive U.S. engagement in sub-Saharan Africa” than Feingold.